i wrote an article about "Graumahd" in the past on my blog here, but it was in german.Now i want to update with an article&facts about this neofolkgroup in english, because i have many guests from us on my blog.Here we go.

Hey folks,

today i want to update with some facts from and about the neofolkband "Graumahd." I like their music in some way.

Graumahd

Their
discography consists of an Untitled 7’’ (2004) & a full length
album called Cheru (2006), both released by Albin Julius’ HauRuck!
label.

Georg O. - Guitars
Wolf L. - Guitars, Lyrics
Jörg B. - Guitars, Voice

Releases:

Untitled (7", Ltd) Hau Ruck! 2004
Cheru (CD, Album) Hau Ruck! 2006

Untitled (7", Ltd) Hau Ruck! 2004

Graumahd
was one of the positive surprises for me at the WGT festival in
Leipzig. Though far from faultless (it was only their second live
appearance), I enjoyed their dynamic concert with six people on stage. I
don’t know much from Graumahd, except that they come from Austria and
that they have musical relationships with other acts from that country
like Allerseelen and Sturmpercht. They also participated on the “Wir
Rufen Deine Wolfe” compilation (they played their version live).

This
four track 7″ single was released in 2004. There’s no information
whatsoever about track titles or credits on the cover. The band uses
guitars, drums, flutes and cello to create an accessible kind of
neo-folk. The music of Graumahd resembles other dark folk acts, but
leaves a positive impression because of the energy and spontaneity that
the songs convey. The music seems also to be influenced by older
psychedelic folk.

The compositions vary nicely between tranquil
and uptempo parts. Especially the (classical) guitars come to the
foreground, which are played more sophisticated than many other neofolk
acts do. The vocals are a little raw, but that’s no rare thing with this
type of music.This single is over before you know it, so it’s time for an album of Graumahd.

I
bought the album "Cheru", at home i hear very traditional and typical
nature sounds.They are relative unknown, but i discover a review about
their first album "Cheru." But read the following words from an article.

Cheru2006

Graumahd’s
cd looks like another neo-folk release and is perhaps labelled as such,
but has much more in its core. The label concludes it was partly
inspired by the psychedelic sounds of the 60ies/70ies. I can only say
their guitar styles show a rather open style. Sometimes they are
drifting (“Die Letzte Nacht”, “Cheru”), but there are also original
layers of fingerpickings or guitar themes (“Ohne Welt”). "..und dann kam
Ruhe vor dem Sturm" goes almost psychedelic in their drift, with
additional percussion, following in "Jahreskreis 2005", with nice tempo
changes, flute and melodically-sliding double bass. Also "Umwelschatten"
received extra percussion and flute colouring the music beautifully.
Nice. "Ausklang" is a surprise outro track, with harmonium and other
sounds.

The lyrics (in German) are according to Wolf "about
alpine mysticism, and about never-ending cycles such as the one of life
and death." "Die letzte Nacht" for instance are about someone's last
night, using some metaphors that should help to overcome the fear of
death. Another such cycle is a remaining source of subconscious wisdom
(on "Ohne Welt"), about the power of nature (...und dann kam Ruhe...),
about the seasonal cycle ("Jahreskreis"). "We use local legends and are
inspired by nature itself." "Auwaldschatten" for instance is inspired by
a visit to the Danube river. "We use philosophical thoughts and reflect
them in the lyrics. We also used parts of medieval lyrics from farmer
songs. Mostly it has a quite romantic side on a higher- or metalevel."
The lyrics of "Cheru" sounded to me like an old poem from the Romantic
period. Wolf : "The first stance is from Cythraw by Soulsearch. We read
about the myths of the Nibelungs and there was a theory that Siegfried
was Arminius, who defeated the Romans in the Teutoburger Forrest. So we
connected the myth with the cheruskian people, whose leader was
Arminius. That's why the album is called Cheru. The song is about this
tragic figure Siegfried, who fought the dragon in a great battle, but
was killed shortly after that." I guess it worked as another metaphor of
overwhelming powers of nature in some ancient areas that still belong
to nature itself, something which I guess will also have inspired a
certain underlying power in the music.